While Apple has yet to officially confirm any Apple Watch production issues, rumours have suggested that the smartwatch’s taptic engine component could be the source of delays. Combined with strong demand, availability of the Apple Watch quickly slipped into the summer months as soon as it became available for pre-order. While in-store sales were to have started on April 24th at one point, the Apple Watch remains unavailable for purchase in Apple Stores to date. Those Apple Watch issues may have finally been ironed out and availability could soon improve.
According to Digitimes which has had a spotty record with rumours, Quanta vice chairman CC Leung recently said that manufacturing the Apple Watch “is no longer a challenge to Quanta in both technology and quality.” It should be noted that Leung did not explicitly mention the Apple Watch, instead describing the device as being “unlike the smartwatches it produced before and has a lot of functions in it.” He added that “its client is satisfied with the product.”
Leung explained that labour shortages during the Lunar New Year holiday were the cause of the limited shipments seen to date. The company apparently had to bring in additional staff from other manufacturers. Leung made no mention of delays due to to component suppliers.
For its part, Apple has yet to say when we will see the Apple Watch go on sale at Apple Stores or when order lead times will begin to improve.
Source : Digitimes